“Because we’re taking behavior out of the grade, we want to put it somewhere else,” said Hickman teacher Stacy Throckmorton. “Because now if you turn something in late, [while] you may not be able to turn in it two months late, teachers have to take late work now. We thought if we put it [behavior] with the Purple and Gold cards, this could be a way to reward students who turn in their work on time … but how it is right now, there’s no penalty for late work through an academic grade, because that’s not really representing what a student knows.”

The system has also been slightly modified for the current year.

“The biggest change this year is that if you sign out to go to the Media Center you don’t have to come back to class for study hall, but the freshmen and sophomores do have to come back,” said Throckmorton.

The rewards for the incentives have also been altered, now including deals for card-carriers at Lakota Coffee, among other businesses. While the time of implementation hasn’t been settled, Throckmorton stated that the next school year will likely be when the new system is introduced.

When asked about ideal changes to the cards from a student perspective, responses differed.

“It should be harder to get one,”  said sophomore Karmen Rutter. “It’s pretty easy to get a purple/gold card. Some people abuse their freedoms and go to the library to goof around when they COULD be doing homework. The kids who work hard for their grades should be the ones getting rewarded, not the ones who aren’t really trying and are just passing their classes by chance.”

Other students had different views regarding the effects and use of the cards.

“I believe that the system works pretty well,”  said sophomore Ean Rice. “I know that we can always make improvements but the school definitely knew what they were doing with these cards.”

Meanwhile, other students were more concerned with the smaller details.

“Honors/AP classes should really be taken into account for the cards,” said freshman Hannah Butler.

The Kewpie Incentive Cards, more commonly known as the Purple and Gold cards, may receive changes in functionality in the 2018-2019 school year.

One of the primary reasons for the changing of the card criteria is due to the question of behavior, and what role it should play in the system. Currently, the Purple and Gold cards are structured as a mixture of academics and behavior, with requirements including meeting a predetermined amount of “A”s and/or “B”s in addition to limitations on the amount of tardies and referrals that that the student accumulates.

Shy of a year away from being upperclassmen, discussion about sophomores being able to go off campus, along with P&G card privileges for sophomores, has been circulating.

“I think that if sophomores could leave campus, it would definitely help incentivize the cards,” said Rice.

A student committee may be created to help facilitate collecting student opinions on the card system.

“We had the Kewpie incentive cards 10 years ago and they weren’t very effective because there wasn’t really any incentive that the students thought the card was worth, some wouldn’t even pick up the card,” said Throckmorton. “I feel like if we want people to really embrace these goals, there needs to be an incentive that is worth while. And so I think that if we had student input on what they want, then it’s going to make it a better program.”